Cankered and sooted o’er to a spider’s nest. His sweets thus soured, what melancholy change, What an ill-natur’d lour, a face so strange! His life one whole long scene of all unrest, And airy hopes his thin cameleon-feast; Pleased only with the pride of being preferred, The echoed voice to his own listning herd, A magisterial Belweather tape, The lordly leader of his bleating troop. These doctrines our young Sullenists preach round, The texts which their poetic silence found. But why the doctor of their chair, why thou, Their great rabbinic voice, thus silent too? Could Noll’s once meteor glories blaze so fair, To make thee that all-prostrate zealot there? Strange, that that fiery nose could boast that charm Thy muse with those seraphic raptures warm! And our fair Albion star to shine so bleak, Her radiant influence so chill, so weak! Gorged with his riotous festival of fame, Could thy weak stomach pule at Mary’s name! Or was thy junior palate more canine, And now in years grows squeamish, and more fine! Fie, peevish-niggard, with thy flowing store To play the churl,--excuse thy shame no more. No. IX. VERSES OCCASIONED BY READING MR DRYDEN’S FABLES. INSCRIBED TO HIS GRACE THE DUKE OF BUCKINGHAMSHIRE. BY MR JABEZ HUGHES. _Musæum ante omnes, medium nam plurima turba Hunc habet, atque humeris extantem suspicit altis._--VIRG. TO THE READER. _1720-1, March._ It is now almost fourteen years since these lines were first written; and as I had no thought of making them public, I laid them aside among other papers; where they had still continued private, if it had not, in a manner, become my duty to print them, by the noble regard which is paid to Mr Dryden’s memory, by his grace the Duke of Buckingham, who, to his high quality, has added the liberal distinction of having long been at once both an eminent patron of elegant literature, and the most accomplished judge and pattern of it. It might indeed seem an adventurous presumption to offer so trivial a poem to his Grace’s view; but he who is able to instruct the most skilful writer, will have benevolence enough to forgive the imperfections of the weakest, and to consider the inscribing these slight verses to his Grace, merely as a respectful acknowledgment of the common obligation he has laid upon all who have a true value for English poetry, by thus honouring the remains of a man who advanced it so highly, and is so justly celebrated for beauty of imagination, and force and delicacy of expression and numbers.